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| 13 May 2008 05:38:36 pm |
 White Van Economy |
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White van Flea market stall, Ballyshannon, Sunday Market, April 2008 |
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Gareth |  Comments[95] |  Trackbacks [0] |
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| 29 Apr 2008 02:03:29 pm |
| The language of marketing in Utopia; |
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I have recently taken an interest in the language used to market new homes.
Offering more than a fabulous luxury apartment these glossy brochures promise an improved quality of life.
I witnessed he most blatant example of this kind of marketing on a visit to Glasgow earlier this year.
The developers promote life at 'UTOPIA' while ignoring the violent history and terrible reputation of the newly 'revitalised shawlands'.
The reality of utopia (under construction)
The following is an extract from the very optimistic promotional material at Utopia
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Elaine | Comments[69] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 10 Apr 2008 03:42:59 pm |
| Water & Place |
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Cape Grim, Tasmania
You wouldn't want to live there, but the rain water is worth bottling. At Cape Grim it rains on average 187 days a year and it's cold. Even native animals don't like it, so there are very few of them!
Iskilde, Denmark”Iskilde” means ”cold spring” in Danish. The artesian spring was discovered in the Mossø Conservation area in a remote part of the Danish lake highlands in 2001 by a retired insurance broker and his wife.
Glaciares del Peteroa, Chile
At the end of the world the Andes Mountain give birth to the thousand-year-old glaciers from the volcanic Planchón-Peteroa complex.
Viti, Fiji
Viti Levu (Viti's source) is 1,500 miles away from Australia and is located at the very edge of a primitive rain forest, far from polluted air, acid rain, and impure soil.
Spa, Belgium
Spa Natural Spring Water is imported from the town of Spa Belgium located in the Ardennes Mountains, one of Europe’s most renowned conservation areas.
Finé, Japan
Procured from its pristine aquifer located deep beneath the Fuji volcanic belt, Finé has a distinctive yet subtle flavor and a soft mouth feel. Due to its ancient origins, Finé water bottled today will never come in contact with man-made pollutants, that can easily affect the mineral waters of much shallower springs.
Promotional material & images from (and many, many more waters & places) at [url]www.finewaters.com
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Gareth | Comments[43] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 01 Apr 2008 01:51:23 pm |
| 3 Disparate Folk Traditions |
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I am looking at these obscure and often peculiar (to the modern eye) folk festivals, which are borne out of ritual, tradition, and often have their origins in superstition. I am interested with the performative aspects, and the enactment/reenactment of these festivals, some of which have been carried on down through the centuries, and which offer their protagonists and audience a connection to past events, belief systems or recreate a powerful sense of continuity between the past and the present.
Every November 5th (Guy Fawkes' Night), in the main square of Ottery St Mary, thousands of people from across the county and beyond congregate to watch barrels full of burning tar being rolled up and down the streets. This is an extremely ancient tradition, possibly older than that of the unhappy Guy Fawkes himself. Fire festivals around the time of Halloween are deeply rooted in British folklore and have been connected with the ritual burning of witches. It is a great honour to be allowed to take part in the barrel rolling and this has continued in some local families for generation after generation.
Image from Jeremy Deller's FOLK Archive (see www.mini-host.org/folkarchive)
The Onbashira Festival has been held every six years for 1,200 years when the shrine's buildings of Suwa Taisha are rebuilt at Suwa City, in the Chubu region of Japan. It last took place in 2004 and will next take place in 2010. The climax of the festival consists of the Kiotoshi (young men ride the logs as they slide down a steep slope) and the Tate Onbashira (later as they are raised as pillars for the new rebuilt shrine). The Onbashira Festival is also known as one of Japan's big three fanciful festivals.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgO9ByVK2aw for an amusing video action of this.
Every year in the town of Killorglin, Co. Kerry, a feral goat is captured, washed and elevated to the stature of King Puck. Puck is then elevated on 60ft scaffolding within the town where he stays and holds court for 3 full days, over seeing the festivities in the town below.
The most widely mentioned story relating to the origin of King Puck, associates him with Oliver Cromwell who landed in Ireland in 1649 to re-conquer the country on behalf of the English Parliament. It is related that while the "Roundheads" were pillaging the countryside around Shanara and Kilgobnet at the foot of the McGillycuddy Reeks, they routed a herd of goats grazing on the upland. The animals took flight before the raiders, and the he-goat or "Puck" broke away on his own and lost contact with the herd. While the others headed for the mountains he went towards Cill Orglain (Killorglin). His arrival there in a state of semi exhaustion alerted the inhabitants of the approaching danger and they immediately set about protecting themselves and their stock.
It is said that in recognition of the service rendered by the goat, the people decided to institute a special festival in his honour and this festival has been held ever since.
See http://www.puckfair.ie/. The fair is also broadcast live on webcam every year. |
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Gareth | Comments[52] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 25 Mar 2008 06:00:16 pm |
| Pure Authentic Memorabilia |
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Item: A small chunk of iceberg used in James Cameron's movie, "Titanic"(1997). It looks like a 4 inch piece of bluish styrofoam, but it does come with a COA.
Auction ended: Sep-25-07
Remember:
The best movie collectibles you can get are the ones you actually saw on the big screen. Owning a piece of Hollywood history is only a bid away.
From:
http://movieauctions.blogspot.com/2007/09/titanic-iceberg-chunk.html |
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Gareth | Comments[49] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 15 Mar 2008 12:47:14 pm |
| Thursday, March 20th 2008: Barn Screening |
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| Planning to show Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner this Thursday coming. Details for this were posted in a previous post below. Please email me if you are interested in coming. |
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Gareth | Comments[54] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 07 Mar 2008 02:17:03 pm |
| Dancing Diggers are so in this season |
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Perhaps some of you are already familiar with the phenomena of the 'Dancing Digger'? It is something that I only very recently discovered and am of the opinion that it has serious potential. I found some (cheesy) but interesting footage on youtube.
Here are some links;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_81dv2V8mT0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEJhfH1JTTg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxtn5pTFXpw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AQg61cnpQE
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Elaine | Comments[49] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 03 Mar 2008 05:20:09 pm |
| Reciprocal relationships again and again; |
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'Changes in the means of production transform our mode of life and in turn, transform the ideas we have about our world and ourselves. Think about how the human brain invented the steam engine, Fordist mass production, space travel, biotechnology, e-mail and the internet. But think about how these have equally invented us , successfully shaped the way we look at ourselves.' Henri Lefebvre.
Diggers at Mc Sharry's, Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. |
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Elaine | Comments[32] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 26 Feb 2008 01:02:38 pm |
| 'Conditions were blustery, but generally good...' |
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Just a couple of shots from the barn film screening of 'Cold Fever' (1995) at the weekend. It was a blustery evening with spitting drizzle but we were comfortable enough. I hope to show another film in a couple of weeks or so. |
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Gareth | Comments[56] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 25 Feb 2008 07:44:23 pm |
| Arigna Mines |
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Above, an image of the 'sacred heart' that lies deep inside the Arigna mines.
Below, a series of extracts from an argument against the closing of the E.S.B Power Station and coal mines.
Seanad Éireann - Volume 123 - 07 February, 1990.
Private Business. - Arigna Power Station: Motion.
Mr. Costello: I move:
'That Seanad Éireann expresses deep concern at the decision by the Electricity Supply Board to close down its power station at Lough Allen, Arigna, County Roscommon thereby jeopardising the jobs of some 50 workers at the station and the jobs of some 250 miners in the neighbouring Arigna collieries; further calls on the Government to intervene to ensure that the ESB's decision to cease taking supplies of coal from Leydons, Arigna collieries, Flynn, Lehany and Wynns collieries after the 31st March 1990 is rescinded; and further calls on the Government to ensure that Arigna's power station remains operating while the proposals of the miners and ESB employees for investment, development and employment as outlined in their position paper (January 1990) are fully explored.'
Mr. Costello:'Briefly, Sir, I would like to outline the background to the present situation. This is an area where a tremendous amount of mining has taken place over the centuries. As far back as the 15th Century the iron mines were worked in Slieve an Iarann. Indeed, at its height in the 17th century 3,000 men were working there. It is an interesting and indeed an ironic fact at the present time that in 1790, exactly 200 years ago, Wolfe Tone, leader of the United Irishmen, castigated the British Government for their failure to develop the coal and iron mines in the area. Since the mid-19th century, the Arigna Mining Company having been established, coal has been mined successfully. In the Emergency years of 1939 to 1945, 350,000 tonnes of coal were produced annually. The Arigna mines played a crucial, though unsung, role in the national economy at the critical time.'
Mr. Costello: 'The effect of the ESB decision will be to devastate the six parishes of Ballinaglera, Drumkerrin, Drumshanbo, Kilronan, northern Ardcarne and my own home parish of Geevagh, which are located in the four counties of Leitrim, Roscommon, Cavan and Sligo.The last substantial coal mining industry in Ireland will come to an end. A sum of £2.5 million will be lost by that isolated rural economy and community; hundreds of people will be out of work and thousands of men, women and children will be detrimentally affected in the adjoining areas. Schools will close, villages will become deserted, the small holdings in the area will be sold and will be bought out, the mountain ranges and the valleys of Arigna and Slieve na Iarann will be forested, families will emigrate, the social welfare burden will be imposed on the State and the traditional way of life will be gone forever.'
In 1998 Denise McMorrow wrote a thesis entitled 'The Socio-Economic Costs of unemployment in Ireland with particular reference to the Arigna Mining Community.' This is available for examination in the local studies section of the Ballinamore library. In this text McMorrow discusses social problems in the Arigna area as predicted by Costello, above, just eight years earlier. The authors central argument debates whether the financial cost of keeping the mine open is in fact greater than the social and economic cost of closing it.
Image from http://www.monasette.com/archive/2005
Text from http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0123/S.0123.199002070010.html |
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Category : culture
| Posted By : Elaine | Comments[54] | Trackbacks [0] |
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